The Adventures of The Marauders
by Bird of All Fandoms
Summary: The Marauders have done a lot over the years, from tricking Dumbledore to trying to help James win over Lily. But now, their tales have been recorded and are being published for everyone to see. Enjoy the antics of our favorite band of mischief-makers! (Slow-burn Wolfstar and obvious Jily, but these are mostly just the adventures of the Marauders)
1. 1st Year- Trouble in the Form of Friends

AN/ **Greetings to all you Potterheads! I'm not gonna take up your time by making you read this note, but I do have a few things to say. 1) Peter will not be this dolt or dummy. I'm not a Peter hater, at least, not when he was young. 2) Sirius is not going to be a huge bully, just his usual self. 3) This isn't going to contain any smut. You're in the wrong place for smut, m'kay? And finally, 4) This fic is going to tell the tales of the Marauders in the order of the years. So don't expect an 8th chapter mixed in for a while. :P Alright, enjoy this chapter everyone!**

Disclaimer: Listen, if I was J.K. Rowling, I wouldn't have to be writing this fic.

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Remus looked at the scarlet train, his stomach bubbling with mixed feelings. He felt nervous, oh so very nervous, but he was also so, so excited. Something he had never thought possible was happening. But he wasn't sure he could even make it to the train without collapsing out of nerves.

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk to you to the train?" Lyall Lupin, Remus' father, asked. Remus glanced at his father, smiling slightly at his father's worried expression.

"I'm sure, dad," he replied, bending and beginning to gather his things. A hand on his shoulder stopped him. Remus turned to face his parents.

"Just be careful, Remus," his mother, Hope, said. Remus smiled again and nodded. His parents were always very careful.

"Remus, I know the teachers have been informed, but the students have not. Be careful with who you talk to." Remus nodded, feeling the usual weight of having to hide something already settling in his gut. "Under no circumstances tell someone of your condition." Remus winced, but nodded. That warning had been in place for years. "And don't make close friends."

Remus kept his smile plastered on his face, but he felt cold inside. He knew his parents were scared for him, but their warnings were beginning to get him wary of other people. To the point where he could barely talk to anyone.

The train let out a whistle, and Remus took the opportunity to pull himself from his father's death grip, say a quick goodbye, and hurry through the crowd to reach the train. He dove through the doors just as the train started to leave the station. He waved to his parents, then moved from the windows as the train entered a tunnel.

Remus trudged down the corridor, peering in each compartment with the hope of finding an empty one. The first fifteen or so were occupied by laughing students, and a few went so far as to flick paper at him to get him to leave. Remus frowned as he ducked under what looked like a page from a book. _I hope I'm not in the same house as them,_ Remus thought, hauled his trunk down the corridor. Finally, Remus found an empty compartment near the end of the train and slid inside. He pushed his trunk under the row, then collapsed on a seat. He stared out the window, letting his mind drift.

Remus couldn't believe he was going to Hogwarts. He had never thought that would be possible for him. It wasn't the fact that he was a half-blood. Plenty of students there were, though Remus knew that some families would kill to make the school a pure-blood-only school. No, he had a different problem.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

Bitten nearly six years ago, his lycanthropy had worn heavily on his family. Lyall, as a wizard himself, knew of the dangerous reputation werewolves were given. He, along with his wife Hope, had become paranoid, and Lyall had home-schooled Remus since first grad, And contact with other kids was very little, and when the full moon came, if in the grasp of the wolf's mind, Remus attracted the attention of a neighbor, the Lupins would pack up and move. So Remus had never really had friends. Either he had never worked up the courage to talk to them, his family had to move before he could even meet them, or his parents warned him to stay away.

Remus sighed and pulled a book from his bag, flipping through it absently. He was getting tired more than little tired of never having someone to talk to.

About ten minutes later, Remus was startled out of his reading as the door to his compartment slid open. A blond, slightly chubby, boy stood in the doorway, watching Remus nervously.

"Can I come in?" the boy asked timidly. "I've been wandering the train, and I can't find another place to sit."

Remus was shy by nature, and honestly, by raising, but he wasn't about to turn the boy away. "Sure," he said warmly. "Back yourself at home."

Looking relieved, the boy hurried in, letting the door click shut behind him. The blond-haired boy shoved his bag onto the rack above him, then sat heavily. Remus scanned him curiously, content not to speak for the moment. The boy had soft features and bright blue eyes that sparkled with life. His blond hair flopped on his head, and while his clothes weren't the best quality, they were better than Remus'.

"Oh, sorry. Peter Pettigrew." The boy sat forward, holding out his hand.

"Remus Lupin," Remus said, shaking the offered hand.

Peter sat back with a slight smile, sighing as he looked out the window.

"Amazing, but a bit overwhelming, innit?" he asked. Remus nodded and was about to reply when the door flew open and two dark haired boys stumbled in.

"Wha-" Remus began, then stopped in confusion as one of the boys dove under the seat Remus was sitting in. Remus glanced at Peter, but the other boy looked just as confused as Remus felt. A second later, the door banged open again and an angry boy with greasy-looking black hair stood in the doorway, flanked by a redhead with bright green eyes.

Remus frowned. _No need to bang the door,_ he thought, annoyed.

"Were two idiots just in here?" the boy demanded, his expression close to a sneer. Remus frowned again. He knew the "two idiots" were the two boys who had just taken refuse under Remus' and Peter's seats, but Remus did not like this guy.

"Ye-" Peter began.

"No, just us," Remus cut in smoothly. The boy frowned, and Remus noticed the redhead tilt her head with a curious expression.

"I was sure they dove in here," he said. Remus shrugged.

"Sorry, guess you saw wrong. Maybe they're in the next one."

The boy sighed and stepped back from the door. With a muttered "Come on, Lily," he stalked off, scratching his hands. The girl, Lily, gave him one more look before following her friend. The door clicked shut behind them, and several seconds ticked by, the only noise being the clack of the train and the sounds of chatting students. Then both boys who had taken refuge in the compartment emerged, grinning like the idiots the angry boy had called them.

"Thanks for that," the boy who had hidden under Remus' seat said, pulling himself out and flopping next to Remus.

"What did you do?" Remus asked, watching with amusement as the boy under Peter tried to pull himself out, but seemed stuck.

"We just took Snivellus' books," the boy under Peter said, grunting a few more times until Peter took pity on him. The boy's glasses slipped down his nose as he stood. "Nothing big." Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it had to be big, because he looked pretty mad. And what was with him scratching his hands?"

"I might have put itching powder between the pages," the boy next to Remus snickered. Remus turned to look at his neighbor, his eyebrow still raised.

"Why?"

"'Cause I could?"

Remus gave him a flat look. "No, really."

"Well, maybe he bugged me on the way in, but that wasn't the reason at all."

"Uh huh." Remus wasn't convinced. "But, really, itching powder?"

"'Course," the bespectacled boy said.

"Alright, who are you two?" Remus felt he deserved that at least, seeing how he had just saved their hides.

"James Potter," the boy next to Peter said, both his dark eyes and glasses twinkling. He still stood, and he gave Remus a bow. "At your service." Then he seemed to remember Peter was there, and he bowed to the blond boy as well. "Oh, at your service too."

"Sirius Black," Sirius answered from his spot next to Remus. Sirius gave him the same mock bow James had, and Remus fought back a smile. "And who do I have to thank for my escape of greasy-haired wrath?"

"That's Peter Pettigrew, and I'm Remus Lupin," Remus said, since Peter seemed to have lost his ability to speak.

Sirius nodded, as if filing their names away for later. Then a crooked grin spread over his features. "I don't suppose we can hide out here?"

"Peter?" Remus asked warily, but Peter was too busy mumbling "Itching powder? _Itching_ powder?" to answer. Remus sighed. "Fine. Just don't expect me to lie again."

"Noted and ignored!" Sirius said cheerfully, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back. Remus pressed his fingers to his temples. He was already regretting letting these two boys stay with him and Peter.

"Why did you anyway?" James asked. Remus shrugged, noticing that Peter snapped out of his mutterings to listen to Remus' answer.

"Dunno. That guy looked mad, I guess I thought I wouldn't want to face him myself."

"Whatever the case, thanks," James said, leaning back so his position matched Sirius'. "There's a spirit of a Gryffindor right there."

"I would be happy in Gryffindor," Remus said, letting his hands fall to rest on his knees. "Or Ravenclaw, I don't really care. I think either would suit me." James held a hand to his mouth, a look of mock horror on his face.

"You dare consider getting into Ravenclaw?"

Remus blinked. "Why, you do think you'll be in Gryffindor?"

"Yup."

"And you just want to irritate me?" James opened his mouth but Remus cut him off. "Oh wait! That's already happened." Sirius chuckled and Remus turned to him. His eyes closed, Sirius was grinning.

"Thank you for shutting him up." Remus realized how rude he had been and felt his cheeks flush slightly. _These two are already corrupting me,_ Remus thought. _Or maybe they're just giving me opportunities too good to ignore. Yeah, that's it._

"And what house do you want, Sirius?" he asked, mostly to hide his embarrassment.

Sirius' eyes opened slowly, his expression bitter. But before he could even open his mouth, the trolley lady arrived. Remus' eyes widened at the sight of all the chocolate. He craved the sweets, but the money he did with him have was being saved for more important. He let out a small sigh, then perked up again as Sirius promptly bought everything on the cart. Remus' eyes widened again, this time at the sight of the handful of coins in his hand.

"How do you-"

"I have rich parents," Sirius said, though Remus could once again see the bitterness in Sirius' eyes and hear it in his voice. Remus wanted to ask what the problem with Sirius' family was, but was distracted as a pile of sweets landed in his lap. He resolved to ask Sirius later, surprising himself at his boldness.

For the next few hours, Remus found himself chatting with the other boys, and generally enjoying their company. Remus found himself happy, and it made him want to ignore what his parents had said about not making close friends. Then he remembered what he could do to them and his gut wrenched. The chocolate frog he had just popped in his mouth didn't seem so tasty anymore.

"Remus?" Sirius asked. Remus jumped and looked at the raven-haired boy, somewhat surprised to see concern in Sirius' eyes. He'd only met the boy a few hours ago.

"Sorry, what?" Remus asked, a little guiltily.

"A prefect just poked his head in and told us we'd be pulling into Hogwarts in about thirty minutes. I said we should probably get into our robes now, before the bathrooms get swamped," Sirius said, probably repeating himself. Remus nodded and dragged himself out of his thoughts, pushing images of his new friends getting mauled by him away.

Half an hour later, the Hogwarts Express pulled into the Hogsmeade station. Remus yanked his trunk from under the seat, taking a deep breath. Then he followed James out of the compartment, down the corridor, and into the flood of students. Remus was immediately crushed between people, and he started to feel a little panicked. Then he heard someone bellow,

"First years, this way!"

 _I would go that way if I could move!_ Remus thought, struggling to move toward the sound. Then a hand grabbed his sleeve.

"He said this way." Remus looked up and into the face of Sirius, who was giving him a smirk. "Come on."

Remus let Sirius drag him through the crowd, content to let someone else struggle with the hoard of people. But there was no struggle. Sirius simply glided through the mass of students. They seemed to part for him. Finally, Sirius broke through the wall of people and Remus could now see that the bellow had come from a mountain of a man. Remus shied back, but Sirius yanked him forward.

"Drop your stuff there, then come on." Remus dropped his stuff "there", "there" being a pile of trunks and bags, then followed Sirius to a boat. James and Peter already sat in it.

"Are we supposed-"

"Yes, Hagrid told us to go here," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. "Come on."

Remus looked around, assuring himself that other people were indeed getting into other boats and that Sirius wasn't just tricking him. _Why don't I trust him?_ He wondered. _Probably because you just saved him from "Snivellus" after he put itching powder in a book_ , another part of his brain answered.

Remus realized he had been standing there for several seconds and, embarrassed, he launched himself into the boat. Of course, he forget the boat was a boat and he nearly stumbled over the other side into the water. Luckily, James was quick and caught his arm.

"Thanks, James," Remus gasped as James pulled him onto the seat next to him.

"No problem," the bespectacled boy answered. A few more minutes were spent in silence as the four boys waited for something to happen. Then with a jolt, the boat pushed itself away from the dock, heading across the lake. Remus let out an awed breath. The boats were heading for a gigantic castle. Towers jutted up here and there, lights flickered from a million windows, and the whole castle just radiated an aura of magic.

"Try not to fall in the water from all your gaping," James chuckled.

"What, you don't find this amazing?" A brief pause.

"I never said that."

Remus kept his eyes on the castle the whole way across the lake, his mind trying and failing to comprehend what he was seeing. Eventually, he had to stop his staring as the boats landed at another dock and he was herded off the boats. He trotted up a staircase, right into the castle itself. The staring resumed.

Remus followed the crowd around him, trusting all the people to guide him to where he need to go. His eyes flicked around the room, landing on picture after picture, door after door. Finally, Remus stopped as the crowd of students around him did, though he was a little delayed. After apologizing in response to an annoyed grunt, he made his way through the students and back to Sirius' side. A second later, he spotted Peter and James standing a few students away. They were discussing something.

Before Remus could ask Sirius a question, a cat walked out onto the landing. The students went silent, and Remus blinked. Who was this? With a swoosh, the cat transformed into a woman. Her face was lined, and her gray hair was tied back in a tight bun. Her robes whirled around her briefly before settling.

"Greetings to all you first years," the woman said formally. "My name is Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, and on behalf of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, I welcome you to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. In a moment, the doors behind me will open and you will be admitted to the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses."

The woman's gaze turned harder.

"Something you all should know. Whether you are in Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, or Slytherin, points will be deducted from your house as professors and prefects deem fit. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup, so consider that before you begin to misbehave. Just a moment."

With that, Professor McGonagall slipped through the doors and the students erupted in conversation.

"You never told me. What house do you want?" Remus asked Sirius quietly. The same look of bitterness Remus had seen on the train appeared on Sirius' face.

"Probably get Slytherin. It's what all my family's been in. Got a cousin there, too."

Remus examined Sirius' face, taking in the pursed lips and hard gaze. "That's not what I asked."

Sirius took a breath. "OK, then I'd like to be in Gryffindor. It would irritate the heck out of my parents, and well-"

"James and Peter are there?" Remus finished. Sirius gave him a crooked grin.

"I was going to add you in that sentence, too." Remus smiled.

"If it means anything, you don't seem like a Slytherin to me." Sirius glanced at him, and a genuine smile, not the smug smirks Remus had seen earlier spread over his face.

"Thanks, Remus. That means a lot."

There was a loud creak from the doors and Remus looked up. Professor McGonagall once again stood at the top of the stairs, but this time, the Great Hall's doors were open. "We are ready for you."

The students swarmed forward and Remus found his lungs being crushed until a ragged line was formed. Remus glanced around and noticed James and Peter a few steps ahead. A quick glance behind him confirmed that Sirius was right behind him.

The Great Hall was just as impressive as the rest of the castle, if not more so. The ceiling showed a dark sky with clouds drifting across it, the moon hidden by a particularly large cloud. Remus' stomach clenched at the sight of the moon, but he took comfort in the fact that the moon was a mere sliver.

"How does that work?" Sirius asked, his voice tinged with awe.

"It's enchanted to look like the night sky," Remus explained. "I think. I'm not sure if it can only look like the night sky or if it's just enchanted to look like the sky. It was mentioned in a book about the history of Hogwarts."

"Ravenclaw, you're about to get the genius of the year," Sirius muttered. Remus fought the urge to smile, but suddenly, the prospect of going to Ravenclaw didn't seem so great.

The students stopped before the teachers' table. In front of the table was a ragged, black hat sitting on a stool. Professor McGonagall stood next to it, a large roll of paper in her hand.

"When I call your name, you will come up, and be sorted into your house." McGonagall let the paper unroll and scanned it while picking up the Sorting Hat.

"Lily Evans!"

Remus tilted his head as the same redhead from the train walked up, her expression somewhere between nervousness and determination. The room was quiet for a moment, then the hat bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR!" A cheer went up from the Gryffindors, along with polite applause from everyone else. Lily smiled and slid from the stool, making her way towards her new house-mates. After that, Remus tuned out most of the sorting. He was too busy panicking as the crowd around him thinned.

"James Potter!"

Remus watched as James detached himself from the crowd and strolled up to the hat.

"What do you reckon?" Sirius asked in Remus' ear. "Think he'll get it?"

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat roared at the same time Remus was going to say "yes." The Gryffindor table exploded and James launched himself off the dais, high-fiving another Gryffindor as he sat.

"I was about to say yes," Remus muttered.

"Sure," Sirius muttered back. Remus rolled his eyes, but there wasn't any real annoyance in the action. _I have known Sirius for exactly half a day and he is already smashing my habits to pieces,_ Remus thought. _I suppose any Black I meet will give me trouble. He frowned_. _Where did that come from?_ Remus furrowed his brow in confusion until he remembered the stories about the Black family his parents had told him.

The Blacks were an arrogant, pure-blood family, and they did not tolerate other blood classes. There were rumors floating around that they supported Voldemort. It had never been proved, but it was no secret that they agreed with what the Dark Lord was trying to do. Rid the world of all the Muggle-born wizards.

 _But Sirius isn't like that,_ Remus thought. Despite what he thought, he was probably defying his parents' wishes of being careful who he talked to just by standing next to Sirius. But Remus couldn't make himself leave Sirius, or James or Peter for that matter.

"Peter Pettigrew!"

Remus realized that several names had been called while he had been thinking, and he watched as Peter walked up to the hat and sat gingerly.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Another cheer from the Gryffindor table, and this time, Remus cheered along.

"Peter a Gryffindor? Who would have thought?" Sirius said.

"He's smarter than he looks. Just wait," Remus muttered. Sirius shrugged.

"I can wait."

Remus smiled slightly, but the smile died on his face as he heard McGonagall shout, "Remus Lupin!" Remus' heart stopped and he felt frozen to the spot. Then Sirius nudged his shoulder and whispered,

"You got this. Get up there."

Remus took a nervous breath, then walked up to the stool. He sat as gingerly as Peter had, and he flinched as the hat was placed on his head.

"Hmm, you have a mind for knowledge. You thirst to know more about your world. You are shy, but love to learn. You are very practical, and logic makes sense to you."

Remus realized he was hearing the hat's thoughts. The Sorting Hat definitely seemed like it was leaning toward Ravenclaw and Remus started to feel pleased. Then a jolt of sadness shot through him as he thought of James and Peter, who sat at the Gryffindor table, and of Sirius, who sure seemed like a Gryffindor to him.

"Hmm," the hat grumbled. "That changes things. You are loyal. You stick to your friends' sides. You would fit in Ravenclaw, but it is not the optimal the place for you. So... GRYFFINDOR!"

Remus' eyes fluttered open and a wide grin spread over his face as he watched the Gryffindors cheer. His grin widened as he picked out James and Peter clapping wildly, James letting out a whoop. Remus got up and heading for the table, sitting across from James and Peter.

"Welcome to the club, mate," James whispered. Remus grinned at him, then turned and caught Sirius' eye. The other boy was watching the students that were getting sorted with a relaxed, almost bored look.

"Sirius Black!"

The hall fell silent, watching as Sirius made his way to the Sorting Hat. The raven-haired boy sat, still looking supremely bored. As the hat was placed on his head, Remus narrowed his eyes, wondering what the hat was saying. _Don't you dare put him in Slytherin,_ Remus threatened mentally. There was silence throughout the hall as they watched.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat bellowed. The hall stayed quiet, stunned silent. Remus felt a grin spreading across his face. His gaze caught Sirius' again, and the raven-haired boy gave him a lop-sided grin. Then James let out a cheer, standing and clapping. The rest of the Gryffindors quickly followed suit, letting out triumphant roars. Polite but confused applause came from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. The Slytherins sat in stony silence.

Sirius slid onto the bench next to Remus. "Guess who you're stuck with?" he asked. Remus rolled his eyes yet again, but he couldn't hide his grin. James and Peter smiled at him from across the table, and Remus decided it was time to throw his parents' warnings about not making close friends out the window. _I'll just have to be careful,_ Remus thought.

A few more students were sorted, but Remus wasn't paying much attention. James' story of what the Hat had said to him was much more interesting. The clang of a spoon hitting a goblet interrupted their moment, and Remus turned to look at the teachers' table. Dumbledore was standing, his arms raised for quiet.

"I understand all of you want to eat, as I myself am hungry, so I will keep this short. Prefects, I hope to see the same level of performance I have seen in years past. First years, I expect you to respect the teachers. And everyone, you really must try the apple pie when it comes out."

A wave of laughter swept over the students.

"Let's eat!" Dumbledore finished. Remus returned his attention to the table and watched as food appeared on the platters. Everything Remus could imagine was somewhere on the long table.

Remus, Peter, James, and Sirius fell quiet, stuffing their faces with meats (mostly Remus and Sirius) and desserts (all of them were guilty there). By the time the meal had ended and the Gryffindor prefects herded said house out of the Great Hall, Remus' stomach was very full. Almost too full.

"And I never eat again," Sirius moaned to Remus as they walked up the stairs.

"Until tomorrow you mean," Remus said with another roll of his amber eyes.

"You seem to like to roll your eyes a lot."

"Only around you. I'm usually quite polite."

"I have that effect on people."

Remus was more than a little surprised to find a chuckle escape his lips. He wondered how in the space of six hours, he had made more friends than he had in the past six years.

The prefect leading stopped the group at the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Password?" she asked.

"Fortitudo," the prefect said. The Fat Lady inclined her head, then swung open. The students crowded inside.

The Gryffindor common room was cozy. Chairs and tables, a fireplace with chairs around it, rugs and other items decorated the space. Most students were heading for their dorms or their favorite spots, but Remus wasn't sure where to go.

"Oi, Sirius, Remus!"

Remus looked up and noticed James and Peter standing at the foot of a staircase across the room.

"C'mon and see the dorm!" James called, already halfway up the steps. Remus glanced at Sirius, who stood at his shoulder, then hurried after James, taking the steps two at a time.

Remus stopped at the top of the stairs, which earned him an annoyed grunt, but he didn't care. The room was so homey, it made Remus feel warm. Four-poster beds with curtains that could be drawn, chests at the foot of each. James lay sprawled on the one to Remus' left, and Peter pushed his way past to collapse on his claimed bed.

Remus entered the room and drifted to the bed nearest the window, noting his chest already sat at the foot of it. Sirius crashed into the bed across from Remus', sending him a grin. Remus smiled back.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, mates!" James called, bouncing on his bed with a giddy smile.

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 **And thus this chapter has ended! Please drop a review and let me know what you think, as feedback will help my inspiration flow! Side note, this is a fic I'm republishing, but I still have to proofread it. My style had changed. Until next time, Bird out!**


	2. Chaos Brewing

AN/ **Welcome to the second chapter featuring all the ridiculousness of the Marauders! Thanks for two reviews already, and with only one chapter out, I can't wait to give you guys more! So. You ready to try to ride the rollercoaster that is the Marauders' lives?**

Disclaimer: Not J.K. Rowling. Why would she be using this site? Like we Potterheads would be all over anything she published.

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"Remus? Remus? Remus..."

Remus bit down on his lip in an attempt to try to ignore Sirius' hand. This was a difficult feat, as the raven-haired boy's hand floated between Remus' book and his face. Remus tried to focus on the paragraph he was reading, but the more he tried to ignore Sirius' hand, the more he found himself looking at it.

"What?" Remus snapped, finally too annoyed to ignore the raven-haired boy. Sirius straightened with a smirk, and Remus realized that he given his dorm-mate exactly what he had wanted. His attention. With a sigh, Remus set down his book. When Sirius raised an eyebrow, Remus gave an irritated explanation.

"Well, you're obviously not going to let me go back to my reading until I hear you out, so I might as well listen. James want me down there?" Sirius grinned at him.

"Got it in one, Remus. James told me to come get you and drag you down to the common room to celebrate with the rest of the Gryffindors. They're thrilled they got a Black in their house." Remus snorted.

"James told you? I don't think so." Even in the short time Remus had known his new dorm-mates, it had become clear to him that Sirius was not a person who took orders well. He was a leader or a partner, never a follower. And Remus had only known him for a few hours.

"Okay, maybe he more suggested it and I agreed," Sirius conceded.

"And you just didn't want to get blamed," Remus scoffed. "How responsible."

"That must be sarcasm." Sirius flopped onto his bed and lazily put his feet up. Remus peered at him over the top of his book, which he had picked up again with the intention of reading.

"You aren't going back down?"

Sirius shook his head, giving Remus an innocent smile. "Nope. Don't want to."

"Fine," Remus drawled, wary but unable to act on his suspicions. "Just don't bother me."

"Okay."

There was silence for a few moments. Remus tried to read, but he ended up sighing and closing his book again. When Sirius raised an eyebrow, Remus rolled a hand. "Spit it out."

"What?" Sirius asked, just as innocently as his smile had been. Which was surprisingly so.

"Just-" Remus waved his hands, stifling an insult. "Out with it." Sirius shot him a lazy grin.

"I'm trying to figure out the best way to drag you down there without hurting you."

Remus sighed again, an action he thought he was doing too much of lately, then trudged down to the common room, followed eagerly by Sirius. The loud chatter of his housemates hit his ears like a sledgehammer, and Remus immediately strayed into the corner of the room. He stayed in the shadows for a half and hour before slipping back upstairs to enjoy his book. Peter was the only one to see him go, but, correctly assuming Remus wanted some peace, didn't call him out.

It was a little after ten when James and Peter came up, but it was almost midnight when Sirius entered the dorm, crashing into things as he went.

Remus pulled his curtains aside and watched as Sirius toppled onto his bed with a groan, falling asleep as soon as he hit his pillow. _Either he had too much sugar, or my eleven-year-old dorm-mate is drunk,_ Remus thought, somewhat amused. He pulled the curtains shut, trying to find sleep again.

An hour or so later, Remus still hadn't fallen asleep. He sighed and stood, padding silently to the window and peering out. His eyes scanned the grounds before landing on the moon. The moonlight made him shudder, but the wolf inside him knew it couldn't get out for more than two weeks, so it stayed still. Thankfully.

"Remus?"

Remus whipped around, but once he realized it was just a sleepy Sirius, he relaxed, letting a smile cross his face. The raven-haired boy was looking up at him with the dazed look of the recently awoken. Remus knew the other boy probably wouldn't remember the conversation they were having tomorrow.

"Don't worry, it's not time to wake up," he assured. You can still sleep off your hangover or sugar high or whatever."

Sirius continued to stare blankly at him and Remus chuckled, walking back to his bed. _Yeah, he's definitely half asleep right now. He won't remember a thing in the morning._

"Go back to sleep, Sirius," Remus said, laying down and pulling the curtains closed around him. This time, he fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Remus was startled awake when a pillow slammed into his sheets, catching the corner of Remus' blanket and sending it flying. He bolted upright, staring dumbfounded at the pillow. Then the rest of the bedlam exploded his senses, shocking him to awareness.

Peter was running around, chased by a book that was baring extremely pointy teeth. Chains rattled around it, and it took Remus a second to realize out that those chains were supposed to be latched around the book to keep it from doing any damage. Sirius was running after James, a pillow in his hands and a murderous look in his eyes. It took Remus a few more seconds to notice that Sirius was covered in some kind of white powder. James was roaring with laughter, despite the fact that Sirius looked ready to kill him.

Remus snatched his wand off his side table and held it hesitantly, not sure who or what to target first. Finally, he decided to try to calm all the chaos at once. The first spell that popped into his mind was something he was certain he couldn't do, but he screamed it anyway.

"Immobilus!"

To Remus' surprise, a flash of light burst from the tip of his wand. When the spots faded from his eyes, he realized the spell had worked. The room was frozen. James' eyes flicked sideways to look at him, as it seemed he could no longer move his neck.

"Remus," he said in a tone that some would call awestruck. "That was bloody brilliant!"

With a growl, Remus stood, dropping his wand onto his bed and kneeling next to his trunk. "What on earth happened while I was asleep?" he demanded, rooting through his trunk.

"James happened," Peter said nervously, which was understandable considering he had been in the act of tripping when Remus had frozen the room. "I was just waking up when I saw James crouching over Sirius' slippers. I asked what he was doing, and he jumped, throwing the bag he was holding at Sirius instead of his slippers. James threw a clock at me as payback, but it hit my book instead. That was when Sirius tried to clobber James with his pillow, which I think landed on your bed."

Remus paused in looking for his book of spells. "Where did you get the powder?" he wondered aloud. "And what is it?" James grinned easily.

"Oh, my family have friends whose kids go here. One of them got me a bag of itching powder from Zonko's. I've been saving that thing for months now."

"You know it's illegal to steal things from Zonko's," Remus said flatly. James grinned again.

"It wasn't stolen."

"Doesn't matter, you jerk!" Sirius howled. "You coated me in itching powder, and in case you didn't notice, _I can't scratch myself!_ "

Remus growled again and muttered the counter spell to his own. Peter toppled forward and landed on the carpet with a thud, his book launching itself onto his back. Sirius whacked James over the head with his pillow before dropping it and stalking back to his bed. James ignored the pillow whack and collapsed on his bed, still laughing like a maniac. Needless to say, Remus attempted to avoid the other boys the entire time it took him to get ready. He grabbed his books and hurried out the door.

 _Two of my dorm-mates are lunatics,_ Remus thought, making his way through the common room and down to the Great Hall. He hunched in his seat, taking a few pieces of toast and trying to look as inconspicuous as he could. But a few minutes later, James, Peter, and Sirius tracked him down.

"Sorry that's what you had to wake up to," James said, pushing some older Gryffindor out of his way so he could slid onto the bench across from Remus. Peter sat next to him, but he went the route of politely asking. "But the look on Sirius' face was too good!"

Remus glowered at him. "If someone had heard, you could have gotten points deducted your very first day!" he hissed. "Look, James, if you've got a brain in that big head of yours, use it! You should've put duct tape on Peter's curtains, so you would have had time when he woke up. As for Sirius' slippers, you really should have done it earlier, when he was less likely to wake up, or waited until he was gone. And besides all that, you would've needed to prank yourself so we wouldn't get suspicious of you!"

Remus realized his mistake the second James and Sirius glanced at each other with matching devious grins.

"Oh no," he objected. "No, no, no-"

"That's pretty smart of you," James noted, nodding his admiration. Sirius bobbed his head as well.

"Guess all that reading actually does help," the raven-haired boy said breezily. Remus gave Sirius a sharp elbow to the side, but the other boy just grinned, even as he doubled over and wheezed for breath.

"So from now on, we'll be coming to you to make sure our prank plans are solid," James decided. He then promptly reached for the nearest pitcher of orange juice, as if his word was law and the rest of them should simply accept it.

"Sounds good," Sirius agreed. Remus spluttered indignantly.

"I have better things to do with my time than to deal with whatever lunacy you two create!" he protested. He looked to Peter for support. "Come on, Pete, back me up here." Peter's eyes said that he agreed, but his mouth said,

"Sorry, Remus. Too scared of getting pranked myself."

Remus put his head in his hands, staring at his unfinished breakfast. "I'm going to have my hands full stopping you two, won't I?" he asked with a glum resignation. Sirius slung an arm around his shoulders, a far too pleased look on his face.

"Yes, yes you are." Remus dug his elbow into Sirius' side again.

* * *

Luckily for Remus, their first week at Hogwarts was too crowded with classes to allow James or Sirius time to think up a way to make life hard for the rest of the school. There were little things, but nothing like the disaster Remus had witnessed in their dorm. That was extremely lucky for him, because Remus needed all the brain power he had to remember the knowledge that was being crammed in his brain. And the homework... Remus had never minded homework, but when he crashed in the common room at the end of the week, he was feeling overwhelmed.

The bright spot in Remus' week was the friend he had made.

It had happened in Potions, when he had been paired with bubbly redhead named Lily Evans. She was a very bright girl who was not only a natural at Potions, which was a plus, since Remus was bloody awful, but she was also the redhead who had been flanked the greasy-haired boy that Remus had lied to. He had been meaning to track down both of them anyway.

Remus' and Lily's conversations had started out innocently enough, with subjects along the lines of school and the potions on hands, but on Thursday, out of the blue, Lily had said,

"I know they were in that compartment."

Remus had been so shocked, he had dropped the beaker he had been holding. He had managed to catch it, and after hastily assuring Professor Slughorn, yes, everything was fine, he had turned to Lily.

"You did- er, do?" he asked, a tad nervously. Lily shrugged.

"I saw them." She frowned. "Why did you cover for them? Potter and Black were being awful, and I thought you didn't know them." Remus shook his head.

"I barely do. I met them for the first time on the train. Honest."

"Then-" Lily started, frowning.

"Well, your friend seemed angry," Remus interrupted, lifting a placating hand. "I reasoned that I wouldn't appreciate getting ratted out to someone in that state, so I lied." Lily sniffed.

"Well, Severus wasn't happy. Once we got to Hogwarts, I told him they had been in that compartment. You and that blond boy are innocent, and I tried to tell him that, but he's pretty mad at all of you. You should tell Potter and Black to stay away from him for a while, because trust me, you don't want to be around Severus when he's angry."

"His name's Severus?" Remus asked. Lily looked at him curiously.

"Yes, it it. Why would you say that?"

"Well, Sirius and James gave him a different name." Lily narrowed her eyes.

"What?"

Remus chewed his lip, already regretting continuing on the conversation. But he reluctantly said, "Snivellus."

"I'm not surprised," Lily growled. "Merlin, I hate those two."

"They're not that bad," Remus said, surprising both of them.

"I thought you said you barely know them."

Remus did barely know Sirius and James. He didn't know why he was defending them. Sirius and James had attempted to prank, no, _bully_ Severus and they should have paid the price. In fact, considering what they had put him through throughout this week, it would be nice to see them punished. But Remus heard his mouth said,

"You don't really know them either, Lily."

Lily gave him another curious look before returning to her cauldron. She was about to toss a spoonful of powder in, but Remus grabbed her wrist.

"Hold on," he said, nodding at the open Potions book in front of them. "The book says to wait five minutes before adding the powder."

"Oh." Lily squinted at the page, then looked up at him with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Remus." Remus smiled back.

"No problem."

The rest of that Potions class had been spent in companionable silence, broken only by their occasional comments.

* * *

Remus collapsed into one of the couches by the fire, his bag dumped carelessly next to him. Remus' head spun from all the information his teachers had tried to cram into it. _Simple Transfiguration. Pfft. Nothing simple about it at all,_ Remus thought tiredly. He rubbed his temples, trying to remove the image of a mouse being turned into a cup from his mind. He would be better off without that floating around his already packed mind.

"Thanks for standing up for us."

Remus jumped and his eyes flew open. He looked around wildly, then relaxed as he realized it was just Sirius and James. They stood next to his chair, both smirking. Peter had already fallen into the chair across from him and could only send him a shrug when Remus gave him an inquisitive look.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked slowly, deciding it was a better course of action than to say "You're welcome". After all, he wasn't sure if they meant what he thought they did, and he didn't want people getting the idea that he was part of this group of lunatics. Though it might already be too late to salvage that façade.

"Please," Sirius said, lazily flopping onto the couch next to Remus. "James and I heard you." Remus scowled, both at James' bat hearing and Sirius' pleased grin. "So thanks for that. We don't need a dirty secret floating around." Remus put his face in his hands.

"One bloody week and I'm consorting with pranksters," he moaned.

"Consorting is too long a word," James mused. "I prefer interacting."

"That's longer," Remus muttered, making the bespectacled boy laugh.

"Exactly why we need you to be the brains of this group." James reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of paper, dropping it on the table in front of Remus. Remus eyed it, not even reaching out.

"And?" he asked warily. James gestured to the piece of paper, and Remus looked around at the faces surrounding him. Peter, blond hair and blue eyes, full of energy and enthusiasm, as well as a sense of innocence. James, tousled black hair and dark hazel eyes, his wit and charm sparkling like his glasses. And Sirius, black hair falling over his bright gray eyes, smirk and wink at the ready. Remus knew he was stuck with them. And whether he liked it or not, Remus knew he felt a connection to them. He sighed, picking up the piece of paper.

"Well, I can see one flaw already," he noted, raising an eyebrow at his companions.

"What is it?" James asked.

"It's blank."

"And that, mate, is why we need you," Sirius said. "Jamesie and I have a bunch of ideas, but we need you to make them possible."

Remus tilted his head. "You actually have something for me?"

"Oh yeah, several plans," James said eagerly. Remus leaned back, folding his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

"Fire away."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please drop a review, even if you already have, as it makes my day that much brighter. Trust me, I love getting your guys' thoughts and observations. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible! Bird out!**


	3. Christmas Pranks, Part 1

AN/ **Whoa... somehow this chapter ended up being more than 5,000 words... But since this is gonna be my last chapter before school starts again (ha ha yes I go back next week ha ha), I'm splitting this monster into two parts so you guys'll have something to read during the week. :P Alright, enjoy!**

Disclaimer: Somehow I think J.K. Rowling is already out of school.

* * *

The months flew by for Remus. Summer went by, to be replaced by fall, and finally, winter. His classes didn't get any easier, but he slowly started to learn magic, excelling in most his classes. Except for Potions. Remus was still rubbish at Potions. Thankfully, Lily Evans had become a very good friend of his, and was able to help him, but no one was closer to him than Sirius, James, and Peter.

And the three other Marauders were the reason Remus currently found himself in a horrible situation.

"Why didn't that work?" Sirius asked, sprinting down the corridor a few paces ahead of Remus. He could catch up to Sirius with a few longer strides, but he didn't like being the one furthest back.

"The ghosts hate pudding!" Remus said, ducking as a ghostly spear flew over his head, landing with a thud in the wall. It quivered there for a few seconds, then dissipated, taking a few degrees of warmth with it.

"You were supposed to point things like that out back at the common room!" Sirius said accusingly, glancing over his shoulder and giving Remus something close to a glare.

"I told you it was a bloody awful plan!" Remus howled, sprinting faster as the clang of ghostly armor echoed behind him. He dove down a side corridor, dragging Sirius with him. "Are James and Peter safe?"

"How am I supposed to know?" the raven-haired boy demanded, yanking his arm out of Remus' grasp and glancing around. "Are you planning to snog me in here? Cause now's really not the time!"

"No!" Remus snapped, trying to slap Sirius as best he could when they were both running for their lives. "And I happened to see you with that poor girl just two weeks ago. I swear, it's awful you do that, Sirius. If you want to ruin your innocence, go ahead, but don't drag her with you!"

"Were you following me?"

"You asked me to that morning so I could memorize the layout of the hidden corridor you found! You got distracted!" Remus' eyes widened as he spotted a ghost coming straight at them. "Duck!" he screeched, tackling Sirius from behind. They landed heavily in a main corridor just as the ghost flew over their heads, screaming bloody murder.

"Merlin, Remus," Sirius moaned, pawing weakly at Remus, who had accidentally landed on the raven-haired boy's stomach. "How do you carry so much weight?"

"Sorry," Remus said, dragging Sirius to his feet and taking off once more.

A good five minutes later, Remus and Sirius scrambled up the staircase. Remus practically shouted the password to the Fat Lady, to which she gave him an annoyed look, but swung open. Remus shot inside, leaving Sirius to slam the door shut behind them. Remus slumped against the door, Sirius joining him a second later.

"Glad that's over," the raven-haired boy muttered. Remus giggled, his brain finally catching up with his body and comprehending what he and Sirius had just gone through. "What?"

"We were just attacked by ghosts," Remus said between giggles. "Ghosts we just threw pudding at. _Pudding_ , Sirius." The raven-haired boy's mouth twitched and he started to snicker. "Oh, James and Peter aren't going to believe this," Remus said, his giggles becoming full-fledged laughs. Sirius joined him, and for a few seconds, Remus just slumped against his companion's side, laughing hysterically.

"Ahem."

Remus looked up, wiping at the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. James and Peter were watching them from chairs by the fire, Peter with a slightly confused expression, James with a smirk. "Are you two going to stand there laughing or are you going to come over and tell us what happened?" the dark-haired Marauder asked, waving a hand.

Remus pulled himself to his feet and nudged Sirius with his foot, then headed for his friends. He sat on the only available sofa, Sirius a second behind him. Remus finally got himself together and looked at the two other Marauders. He frowned at James.

"What happened to you?" Sirius asked for him. James gave them a crooked grin, made all the more so by his now slightly crooked nose.

"Ah, one of the ghosts caught up and managed to use a goblet as brass knuckles. He got me in the nose and dragged me to Pomfrey. I now have detention for a week." Remus wasn't too surprised. James was always the one that got detention from their pranks. Well, James and Sirius both got detention. It was like some sort of contest. Remus would only get caught if it preserved their reputation.

"What 'bout you, Pete?" he asked. The blond-haired boy beamed.

"I cast a Blinding charm and I got away."

"I told you you'd get it," Remus said, smiling. Peter's grin widened and Remus was glad of the small boost of self-confidence the encounter had given Peter. He had never been the best at Charms.

"So what happened to you two? What was so laugh worthy?" James asked, leaning forward eagerly. Remus glanced at Sirius and instantly began fighting a grin.

"We-" Remus cleared his throat to stop his grin from spreading across his face. "It was-" Sirius started snickering. "Stop," Remus muttered, elbowing his partner-in-crime. Sirius grunted, but refused to stop. Remus rolled his eyes, he did that so much around Sirius it was getting ridiculous, and tried his best to continue.

"It was nothing special. We were just throwing the pudding-"

"Colored plum," Sirius interjected.

"Yes, I know what type of pudding it was, Sirius," Remus snapped. " _Colored plum_ pudding at the ghosts to create Christmas-colored ghosts that ran around Hogwarts like we had discussed. Well, the pudding kind of just bounced off their heads of our ghosts and made them mad. I guess the enchantment in the pudding made it the same as just firing a spell at them. Did you have any better luck?"

"No," Pete said, sounding mildly disappointed. "But I don't get why you were laughing so hard." Sirius coughed something that sounded like "He's hysterical", amd Remus shot him a dirty look.

"You were laughing too, Black."

"Oh, it's 'Black' now, Remus?" Sirius asked, his trademark smirk spreading over his face.

"Only when you irritate me," Remus replied easily, sliding past Sirius and taking the dorm steps two at a time. "Call me if you plan to attempt another half-baked plan."

Remus pushed the door to the dorm open and crossed the room, collapsing on his bed. He shoved his face into his pillow with a be told, Remus had not regretted trying to bomb the ghosts in the least. It had been very, _very_ fun, and running down the halls with Sirius and been the most fun he'd had in a long time.

"Why so glum, Remus?"

Remus lifted his head, and he rolled onto his back. Sirius was leaned against the door frame, arms crossed and a look somewhere between a grin and a concerned frown on his face. Remus rolled back onto his stomach.

"You are corrupting me," is what he meant to say. But since his face was buried in his pillow, it came out as "Mmph rr crrmmph."

"Sorry?" Sirius asked teasingly, crossing the room and sitting on the edge of Remus' bed. Remus huffed, sitting up. Sirius was still one of the few people that could make Remus Lupin lose his composure and get irritaied. Actually, the two people who could make him irriated were two of his closest friends. Did that say something about him?

"I said 'You are corrupting me'," Remus snapped, whacking the raven-haired boy over the head with his pillow. Sirius gave him an unrepentant shrug, completely ignoring the pillow whack.

"Not my fault you need to loosen up," Sirius sniffed. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Says the Gryffindor whose family is in Slytherin and doesn't study but managed to pass the tests." Sirius' gaze grew bitter and Remus instantly regretted bringing up Sirius' family. He still hadn't figured out the full story. "Sorry." Sirius shrugged, and Remus knew it was the best he was going to get. "So did you come up just to annoy me?" he asked, letting a hint of mockery slid his voice. Sirius' eyes shot to Remus'.

"Is that mockery I hear?" Sirius asked, a grin creeping over his features.

"No, it's lovesick tittering."

Sirius laughed and Remus felt the dark mood recede. "I am corrupting you!" he said, clearly delighted. "And in answer to your question, as much as I would love to just annoy, James said he has something to discuss before he and Pete leave for Christmas break. He said to come get you." Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Still don't buy it, Sirius." Sirius grinned.

"OK, maybe I was afraid you would strangle him, considering the mood you were in downstairs."

"And you didn't think I would strangle you?" Remus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope," Sirius said, popping the "P". Remus sighed, dragging himself up and off his bed.

"I hate it when you're right." Sirius smirked at him, and Remus contented himself with giving Sirius a glare. "Come on. I want to get my homework done early tonight."

"Dare you think about homework around Christmas, Remmie?" Sirius said, following Remus out of the dorm. Remus shot the raven-haired boy another glare over his shoulder.

"Yes, because I actually want to do well in my classes. Mind the enchanted mistletoe."

Remus smirked as Sirius threw himself backward, panic in his eyes. Sirius stared at him in confusion, clearly wondering why Remus was so calm when he was stuck under mistletoe that kept you there until another unfortunate soul got stuck as well. Then the penny dropped and Sirius laughed.

"Cruel, Remus," he said, standing and making his way down the stairs to Remus' side. Remus shrugged.

"Meh, consider it payback for all the minor pranks you've pulled on me." Sirius' eyes gleamed.

"Payback for all of them?" Remus paused.

"No..." he said slowly. "Just the most recent. I have an excellent memory." Sirius muttered something Remus couldn't quite make out. He smiled sweetly and asked, "Why so glum?"

Sirius glared at him while James, who had the pleasure of hearing the whole thing, began laughing. Sirius switched his glare to James and sat on the chair closest to the fire.

"Shut up, James," he muttered, crossing his arms and jutting out his bottom lip. James did not shut up, proceeding to laugh even louder.

"Oh, good one, Remus," he said wiping a tear from his eye. Remus just smiled and sat next to Sirius, the picture of innocence.

In fact, if anyone in the Gryffindor common room was asked who the leader of the small band was, the unanimous answer would be James. He was the most eager, and certainly didn't lack imagination. But Remus was the true mastermind. While James and Sirius came up with most of the ideas, it was Remus that brought the pranks to life, only taking detention when it was absolutely necessary. And sometimes if he thought it was best to keep James and Sirius separated during the detention period.

"Don't look so innocent," Sirius said, seeming to read Remus' thoughts. "You're more devious than anyone else here."

Remus gave the raven-haired another smile before turning to James. "So?"

The bespectacled boy blinked. "So what?"

Remus sighed. "James, why did you call me down? I have homework that needs to be done."

"Oh, right!" James shifted, his eyes shining. "Well, since I'm going back to my parents' place for Christmas, I want to be able to tell them about the amazing friends I met there. So I was thinking we need a name."

"A name?" Peter asked, joining the conversation for the first time. Remus didn't blame him. The poor boy was exhausted, as he had stayed up half the night to complete an essay.

"Yeah, it would be so much cooler if I could say, 'Yeah mum, I'm part of the Pranksters' or something." Remus wrinkled his nose.

"While I like the idea, I am giving a hearty 'no' to your name choice," he muttered.

"What about the Musketeers?" Peter put in. Sirius gave the blond boy an exasperated look.

"That's a chocolate, Pete," he said. "What about the Crusaders?"

"That makes us sound like we're trying to improve the school, Sirius." James clearly didn't like the idea of making life easier for the rest of the school.

"Yours wasn't much better, James!" Sirius snapped.

"What about the Marauders?" Remus had been listening to the rest of his friends' ideas without a word, but as he suggested the name, the group fell quiet.

"Hmm. I like the sound of it," James muttered.

"Makes us sounds like troublemakers," Sirius agreed.

"And it doesn't make me hungry!" Peter concluded brightly. The boys laughed.

"The Marauders it is!" James declared, standing on his chair and raising his fist.

"There won't be any needles involved in the initiation, right?" Peter asked nervously. Remus laughed.

"No, I think you'll be fine needle-wise, Peter." He patted the boy's shoulder.

"Great, so that's that," James said. "I'm gonna take a kitchen run, all this thinking is making me hungry. Anyone want to-" James snorted, waving a hand at Peter's eager expression. "Yes, I know you want to, Pete. Remus, Sirius?" Remus shook his head, and he was surprised to see Sirius do the same. "Alright then. Later mates."

Remus watched as James and Peter disappeared out the portrait hole. He sighed contentedly, smiling up at Sirius, who was giving him a grin of his own. "What would we do without the brains of this group?" the raven-haired boy asked, slinging an arm around Remus' shoulders. Remus let his smile become a grin.

"I honestly don't know, Sirius." Sirius's grin became a smirk, and Remus pulled away with a laugh. "Oh, no. What are you thinking?"

"Well, there's something I've been wanting to check."

Remus rubbed his temples, already mentally preparing himself for another of Sirius' half baked plans. "Where?" he asked tiredly.

"In James' chest," Sirius said, grinning widely. Remus let out a moan, rubbing his eyes.

"For the love of Merlin, Sirius! James does not have a secret pet he brought!"

"No, I know that, Remus!" Sirius said, his eyes gleaming. "You know how he can somehow get from place to place without being seen?"

"Sure," Remus said hesitantly. He still wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going, and with Sirius, it could go literally anywhere. "And no, I don't ever wonder why. I'm sure he's just quick and quiet." He frowned. "Okay, that does sound wrong."

"Will you help me check?" Sirius was already halfway to the stairs, and Remus heaved himself from his seat. They both already knew it was happening, but Remus still had to try to dissuade the other boy.

"One person is plenty to snoop," he protested.

"Every snoop needs a lookout, don't they?" Sirius asked, pausing at the door to their dorm. He glanced over his shoulder, giving Remus a triumphant smirk. Remus sighed, shoving the other boy in the back. He just wanted this over with.

"Fine," he grumbled, entering the dorm. "I'll take lookout because you don't even know the meaning of subtle."

"That I don't, Rem," Sirius agreed. "That I don't."

Two minutes later, Remus stood at the door, frantically looking between the staircase and Sirius, who seemed to be taking an extremely long time searching. "Hurry up, Sirius!" he hissed, glancing back at the raven-haired boy from his position at the door. "James' kitchen runs don't take that long! And besides, what if he took this secret invisibility thing with him?"

"Must you be such a spoilsport, Remus?" Sirius asked, not even pausing in his search. Remus scowled.

"I'm being careful, Sirius. Do you really want to explain to James why you were nosing around his chest?"

"It's not here," Sirius said, ignoring Remus' protest.

"How could you possible know?" Remus asked, leaving his post by the door and joining his fellow Marauder. Sirius glanced at him.

"I think I'd know a secret invisibility thing when I saw it." Remus raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who was still looking down at the mess that was James Potter's chest. "Okay, maybe not," Sirius admitted, closing the chest with a thump that made Remus jump. "Huh. Maybe he did take it with him. Oh well. And by the way, you are a horrible lookout. Lookouts are supposed to stick to their posts. Stay at their posts, I mean, not literally stick to them. Though that would be funny."

Remus ignored his friend's chatter and sat on his bed, rubbing his temples. "I hope you're happy now," he mumbled, grabbing parchment and quill from his bag. "I'm not doing this again for the rest of the night. I have enough on my hands."

"No, I'm not happy," Sirius muttered. Then his ears seemed to catch up with his brain and he asked, "Wait, what do you mean? What's going on?"

Remus looked up. "I still have homework. I told you." He looked down at the just about blank piece of parchment. "And it happens to be in Potions. Well, I'm not going to sleep tonight."

"I can't believe you haven't done it yet," Sirius snickered. He trailed off, then cleared his throat nervously. "Do you want to copy mine?" Remus looked up at Sirius, shocked. Sirius Black, the notorious slacker, was offering to let Remus copy his essay? Forget that, he already had his essay done? Apparently the impossible could happen.

"Do I want to- Sirius, are you telling me you actually have your essay done?" Sirius cleared his throat again, a red blush beginning to color his cheeks.

"Well, yeah. And yes, I am done, if you want to enjoy your Christmas break without having to worry about homework..." Sirius trailed off, and Remus gave the raven-haired boy a grateful smile.

"That would be amazing, Sirius. Do you have it on hand, so I can get it done tonight?" Sirius leaned over the side of his bed, reaching into his bag and pulling a neat roll of parchment.

"Right here." Remus stood, crossing the room and sitting on Sirius' bed. "What are you doing?"

"Well, I can't read it from across the room, can I?" he chuckled, leaning over to try to read the essay over Sirius' shoulder. The raven-haired boy gave him an amused look.

"Would downstairs in the common room be easier for you?"

"Yes," Remus said. He gave Sirius a suspicious look. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Me either," Sirius agreed, frowning. "I think _you're_ corrupting _me_."

"Making you nicer isn't corrupting you," Remus protested.

"Whatever," Sirius grumbled, and Remus grinned at the pink that was tinging the other boy's cheeks. "Come on, my bed isn't the common room."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, guys! Drop a review, and stay tuned for the second part! Oh, and like I said, I am going back to school next week, so I apologize if you don't get another chapter for a while. Just let me figure out my schedule, then I'll start typing again. Until next time, Bird out!**


	4. Christmas Pranks, Part 2

AN/ **Hello fellow Potterheads! Here's the second part of Christmas Pranks in all its completely unseasonal glory! The ending is a little sappy, I'll admit, but hey, it's adorable. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I would give anything to be a student at Hogwarts. So I didn't create it.

* * *

Remus rubbed his eyes and set his quill down. Written in Sirius' usual careless manner, it had taken him a while to figure out what was a "P" and what was a "R". Needless to say, it took Remus a very long time to copy the essay if he couldn't even read it, and, since it had been written by Sirius, Remus had needed to make some changes to it.

 _It's the thought that counts though,_ Remus thought, glancing over to where Sirius lay sprawled on a couch, fast asleep. Remus sighed and looked down at his essay. Almost done. Maybe four more lines? But he still had to proofread it.

"Not tonight," Remus muttered, shoving his bottle of ink and quill back in his bag. He grabbed his essay as he stood, stretching his arms over his head. Tomorrow. He was already dead tired from the transformation, which had passed three days ago. Staying up ridiculously late was not helping.

"Sirius," Remus said, shaking his fellow Marauder's shoulder. Sirius didn't respond. In fact, he snored louder. "Sirius," Remus tried again. Nothing. "Sirius!"

Sirius jerked awake, lashing out as he did.

"OW!" Remus jumped back, cradling his slapped hand. Of course, he had forgotten that the table was right behind him. Remus toppled backward, his bag opening and sending writing tools flying everywhere. One such tool, a bottle of ink, chose to land on Sirius, popping open as it went. Another tool, Sirius' original essay, tumbled sideways. Right into the fire. With a slight hiss, the paper crumbled into nothing.

Remus looked at Sirius, whose shirt was soaked with ink. Sirius looked back at Remus, who didn't even know that a splatter of ink was dripping under his left eye. Sirius began to laugh, and Remus found himself cackling along.

"That was my essay," Sirius said between hysterical giggles.

"Don't worry," Remus said, holding up his almost finished essay. "I have a better one."

With that, they collapsed into laughter, both rolling on the floor until a very disgruntled prefect came down from his room and said that if they didn't shut up and go to bed, Gryffindors or not, he was going to deduct points from the house. Remus and Sirius scuttled upstairs, but they could not shut up for the life of them. Which, if they hadn't eventually, could have very well been taken away from them.

* * *

Remus watched as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, carrying with it two of Remus' closest friends. HE felt a bit sad. The Marauders had only just become as such and now they couldn't enjoy Christmas as a gang?

Remus' sad mood quickly disappeared as the raven-haired boy standing next to him nudged his elbow and asked, "So, how do you want to make life difficult for Hogwarts?"

* * *

The next few days were some of the funniest for the two Marauders and some of the worst for most of the teachers. The Great Hall's ceiling was painted red, making the sky look post-apocalyptic, the owls were fed illusion pills which made them drop packages to the wrong people, the Slytherin common room was decorated in Gryffindor colors, Filch woke up after a nap to find his beard had been shaved off, Slughorn found most of his Potions notes missing, and a million and one other things happened in the space of a week.

Everyone in the castle began to wonder how such pranks were being pulled off. Without James Potter, the leader of the Marauders, who was there to control Sirius Black or to use Remus Lupin' brains? Not once did anyone think that the two remaining Marauders could pull off such stunts. And not once did anyone think the two polar opposites had come up with the latest pranks. Not one student, except for Lily Evans.

* * *

"No, the tinsel needs to be coated in powder," Remus said, leaning over the table to point at a spot on the map of the Great Hall he had drawn a few days prior. "Otherwise the sludge won't stick to people when it drops."

Sirius studied the map for a moment before nodding and waving his wand, making the writing disappear. "You're right as always, Rem. What would I do without you?" Remus grinned.

"I don't think I ever want to know, Sirius." The raven-haired boy looked up with a grin, but the grin quickly changed to a nervous frown.

"Evans." Remus spun in his seat, paling as he picked the redhead heading toward them.

"Black," Lily said, nodding at Sirius before smiling at Remus. "Hello, Remus." She sat, also leaning over the table like she wanted to see what Remus and Sirius had been looking at.

"Lily," Remus said, grabbing the paper and rolling it up smoothly. He switched seats, which seemed natural, since that was where his bag was, but Lily clearly wasn't fooled.

"What's the parchment for, Remus?" she asked, nodding at the scroll in Remus' hands. He thought that was an odd way of phrasing her question, and he began to get a little worried when he noticed the look of nervousness that was creeping onto Sirius' face.

"Er, Herbology. You know Peter needs help, and Sirius was helping me-" Remus knew it was a feeble attempt compared to his usual lies, but Lily scared him a little. "Wait!" he yelped as Lily snatched the paper from his hands. Remus watched, horrified, as Lily unrolled the paper and scanned it. Her expression didn't change, not even when she tossed it back onto the table.

"Remus is right, you know, Black. You should listen more carefully." With that, Lily stood and walked off. Sirius stared after her.

"What in Merlin's name just happened?" the raven-haired boy asked. Remus shook his head.

"I think Lily just realized what we can do."

Sirius pursed his lips. "You think she'll tell?"

"I don't think so. And I hope not, that would ruin the prank." Remus blinked, then slapped himself across his cheek. "I did not just say that."

* * *

Remus grunted as Sirius made his mattress dip and rise with each bounce. "Sirius, get off," he muttered into his pillow. Sirius continued to bounce, and Remus finally rolled onto his back and looked at the raven-haired boy that was interrupting his sleep. "Come on, Sirius, get off." Bounce, bounce, bounce. "Really, Sirius?"

"But, Rem, it's Christmas!" Sirius said, his eyes shining with joy.

"So?"

"Remus, I said **_it's Christmas!_** How can you not be excited?"

Remus had to admit that he was a bit excited to see what, if anything, he got for Christmas. _It's my first Christmas with actual friends._ Remus looked at the excited raven-haired boy bouncing on his bed and couldn't stop a smile spreading across his face. _Well, one of them, anyways._

"You realize I can't get up when you're laying on my stomach?" Sirius' face lit up in a smile and Remus was slightly surprised by the change in the boy he knew as Sirius Black.

"Finally!" Sirius launched himself off the bed and Remus sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"What time is it?" Remus asked, squinting at the window. When his fellow Marauder didn't answer, Remus got up and just about crawled to the window. "Sirius, it's barely seven in the morning!"

"Are you coming?" Remus turned and sighed as he began to pad toward his best mate, who was waiting by the door.

"Yes."

"Great!" Sirius shot down the stairs. Remus laughed before following, though much more carefully. When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, his eyes widened at the sight of all the presents heaped around the tree. At first, Remus thought they were all Sirius', but after a second, Sirius called, "C'mon, Remus! I already sorted yours into that pile there." Remus glanced at it and grinned. It was a bigger pile than he had ever seen before.

Remus picked up the one nearest to him and smiled as he spotted the name on the front. It was from Lily. He started ripping the paper off, pausing as he noticed the note taped to the cover of the book he held in his hands.

 _Remus,_

 _Sorry I can't be there with you for our first Hogwarts Christmas. Hopefully Sirius hasn't already driven you insane or gotten you expelled. Anyway, all we seem to talk about is books, so I hope you enjoy the one I got you._

 _Lily_

 _Remus smiled at the note, then turned his attention back to the book in his hands. The Hogwarts Founders. Another smile spread across Remus' face. He had wanted this book since he had started Hogwarts. Obviously, Lily had listened whenever they had talked about books they wanted. Remus set the book aside and continued through his presents._

 _Several minutes later, Remus was surrounded by wrapping paper, gifts sitting to one side and trash to another. There were still two presents Remus hadn't opened yet. And with good reason. One had his name written across the top in Sirius' sloppy handwriting. The other was labeled to him and Sirius. Remus' gaze flicked from present to present._

 _Coming to a decision, he gingerly picked Sirius' present up, holding it away from his face. Remus carefully lifted the lid off. Nothing happened. Remus pulled the paper away from the sides of the box. Nothing. Remus finally abandoned caution as curiosity got the better of him. He poked his nose inside the box and his eyes widened._

 _"Sirius," he breathed. Sirius looked up from where he was eating some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. "You got-" Remus pulled a giant Honeydukes' chocolate bar out of the box. "How did you even get this?" Sirius grinned._

 _"You'd be amazed what money can get you."_

 _"Don't tell me you bribed some third year to get this," Remus said, too focused on the chocolate to be really annoyed. Sirius grinned again and walked over to Remus' side._

 _"Yep," the raven-haired boy said, slinging an arm around Remus' shoulder. "And I'll have you know that they were happy to do me a favor."_

 _Remus tried for a glare, but he reluctantly let it turn into a smile. "Thank you."_

 _"Well, that's not half as good as the muggle recordings you got me," Sirius said, grinning. "Now I can finally use that stupid record player my parents made me bring." Remus smiled._

 _"They seemed your style." Sirius nodded, then frowned at the last present._

 _"What's that?"_

 _"Oh, it has both our names on it. I figured we were meant to open it together." Sirius leaned over and ripped the lid off. Sitting inside the box was a cloak made of some sort of shimmery fabric. Remus pursed his lips, pulling the cloak out. Then he noticed a note tucked inside. He grabbed it and, after wrestling Sirius for it, read it out loud._

 _To Remus and Sirius_

 _I am not giving this to you, I repeat, I am_ _ **not**_ _giving this to you. This is to stop you two looking in my chest._ _Remus paused to glare at Sirius._ _This is how I manage to get around the castle unseen. Pete already knows about it and has used it occasionally. Now you two get to use it while I'm gone. Make some trouble for me. Also, don't rip it._

 _James_

 _Remus looked again at the cloak. He grinned. "Sirius, this is an invisibility cloak." Sirius stared at the cloak._

 _"Really? It doesn't look how I thought it would." Remus elbowed the raven-haired boy, then pushed the box aside. He scanned the mess they had made._

 _"Well, that was probably the best Christmas I've ever had." Sirius held up a finger._

 _"Ah, but you have one more present." Sirius reached behind the tree and pulled out a small box. He placed it in Remus' hands. "It's from me, James and Pete." Remus pulled the lid off, feeling suddenly nervous. The only thing inside was a small slip of paper. He took it was shaky fingers. He unfolded it._

 _Rem, we're not stupid._

 _Okay, we're slightly stupid, and the only reason more of our pranks haven't failed is because you are such a spoilsport. You have helped the Marauders achieve super-awesomeness, and we feel like we should tell you._

 _We know._

 _Remus felt sudden tears prick at his eyes. He swallowed them back, but he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. His friends knew. His three best mates knew he was a werewolf. He had made the best friends ever, and now he had lost them. They were afraid of him. They were going to leave him._

 _Remus' haze of panic and pain was broken as he noticed a small arrow in the corner of the note. He flipped the paper over, staring at the words written were with watering eyes._

 _And we don't care._

 _Remus looked up at Sirius in shock. The usual smirk he wore was gone from Sirius' face. He was smiling at Remus. One of his rare, genuine smiles._

 _"And we are currently working on something that can allow us to be with you for the transformation," Sirius said. Remus opened his mouth, but Sirius cut him off. "And you dare say we can't because it would break a million school rules. We are doing it whether you approve or not, Moony."_

 _"'Moony'?" Remus asked, his voice trembling. Sirius bobbed his head, still smiling._

 _"Yeah. Moony. Think it fits." Remus gave the raven-haired boy a watery smile._

 _"I guess it does. Thank you, Sirius." The taller boy gave him a tight hug._

 _"You can't stop us, you know," Sirius murmured into Remus' shoulder. "We have to do this. For you."_

Remus smiled, burying his face in his best mate's shoulder. This was definitely the best Christmas he had ever had. Presents at Hogwarts, and three best mates who all accepted him for who he was. And were willing to try to help.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please drop a review and lemme know what you thought, and I'll try to get through the next chapter as soon as I can. Bird out!**


	5. Leaving Home

AN/ **This one ain't as long as Christmas Pranks, but this also turned out to be several thousand words *cue surprised gasps*. But it's packed with Marauder misadventures, so I'd say it's worth the read. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I'm just gonna start ignoring this thing...

* * *

Remus shoved his clothes into his chest, grunting as the lid tried to stay up as long as it could. Merlin, it was like it was fighting against him. After several minutes of battling the stubborn piece of luggage, he gave in and jumped on it. Not the brightest idea he'd had in his 11 years of life.

With a whoosh, it closed, sending Remus toppling onto the floor below. He groaned, sitting up and rubbing his now bruised knee from where he had crashed against his bed. He stood, brushing off his robes. With some hesitance, he examined the lid of his chest. Yes, the bloody thing was closed.

Remus sighed in relief, then turned to the dorm door, which now seemed so far away. He considered casting a Levitation charm, but he decided he didn't want his chest landing on anyone's toes. Which was very likely to happen, considering his lack of control over some of his charms. Remus settled for putting his shoulder to the heavy bugger and pushing it toward the door. He slaved for about three minutes, during which he made it about three feet.

"You know, for being our mastermind, you aren't always that bright." Remus looked over the top of his chest, and scowled as he was met with the sight of a smirking Sirius. The raven haired boy, without uncrossing his arms or moving from his position in the doorway, flicked his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa."

The chest floated into the air and Remus, who had of course been leaning on the chest in question, toppled to the floor. Again. He huffed, irritated, then picked himself up. He didn't bother brushing himself off.

"Why didn't you just do this?" Sirius asked, gesturing at the levitating chest with his free hand. "You of all people know how."

"I didn't want to accidentally drop it on anyone's feet," Remus muttered. Sirius grinned evilly.

"Not even Snivellus'?"

Remus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was why he had hoped James would be able to keep Sirius occupied whilst he packed. "No, Sirius. Not even Severus. In fact, definitely not."

"Why not?" the raven-haired boy whined.

"Severus is Lily's friend," Remus said, adopting the tone one would use talking to a five year old. Sometimes, Remus wondered if that was how old Sirius really was.

The Black heir sniffed. "She doesn't know who she's consorting with."

Remus laughed. "And you lot are any better?" Sirius was silent for a few moments.

"Fair point. But at least we're Gryffindors. Please Remus? Just one drop?"

"No," Remus said flatly. "You know James doesn't want any of us irritating her."

Sirius snorted, and Remus had to agree. Their fellow Marauder had become obsessed with the fiery redhead. He was harboring a not-very-secret crush on Lily, but it was clear she didn't share his feelings in the least. In fact, the last time James had attempted to talk to her, she had hexed his hair so it puffed out in an afro. Of course, James didn't care. Not even when Remus had spent two hours trying to remove the hex.

"Fine," Sirius said, albeit grudgingly. "For my brother's sake, I will behave. But if Snivellus irritates me, this chest will drop." Remus sighed and flicked his wand, taking over the spell with a muttered counter-curse.

"Now it will not."

Sirius pouted, reminding Remus of a sad dog. A sad dog that he had grown immune to a long time ago. "But Remus..."

"Move, Sirius," Remus said, already starting towards the door. "I have to get this to the train." Sirius laughed, putting out an arm and stopping Remus in his tracks.

"Remy, the train leaves in an hour." The raven-haired boy grabbed Remus' arm and dragged away from the door. Remus wrestled his arm out of Sirius' grasp, and the other boy gave him a disappointed look. "Rude. You have time to relax, you know."

Remus spent a few seconds taking calming mental breaths. He couldn't understand how his fellow Marauder was so calm when he hadn't packed any of his things. "When are you going to pack?" he demanded, half out of irritation, half out of curiosity.

"Maybe in a half an hour," Sirius said thoughtfully, lifting his shoulders.

Remus snorted. "That leaves you with 30 minutes to get to the train."

"Oh. I thought I had more time than that."

Remus sighed, as even after a full year, Sirius was still the main focus of his sighs and eye rolls, and carefully set his chest down. He leaned against his bed, crossing his arms. "Fine, I'll bite. If you aren't going to pack, what are you going to do?" Sirius smirked, and Remus didn't even bother with a sigh or an eye roll. He knew it wouldn't deter the other boy in the least. "Okay. Do you want me to do the honors, or do you want to pull off the last prank of the year?"

Sirius snickered. "What do you think, Remy?"

* * *

James smiled from his position at the doors of the Great Hall. Why was he smiling? He was currently watching his Lily Evans talk with a few of her friends. Admittedly, he could be called a stalker with the way he was acting, but he didn't care. He was too busy watching her every move.

Alright, maybe that was getting a little creepy.

"James, are we done here?" Peter asked, rubbing his face with one hand. "I still have to pack, and besides, I have to make sure Remus hasn't killed Sirius yet." James barely heard a thing the shorter boy said. "James, can I leave?" James thought he heard a faint sound, but it didn't matter compared to Lily Evans. "Merlin, James, come on."

Peter grabbed James' arm and dragged him towards the Grand Staircase. James struggled weakly, but some tiny corner of his brain managed to overwhelm his lovestruck state and remind him, _You know you're being creepy, Potter. Try to preserve the reputation you've built up over this year. You can be creepy next year._ James sighed theatrically, letting Peter drag him towards the Grand Staircase.

"Fine. Only to respect my Lily's privacy."

Peter snorted. "Just keep telling yourself that, James."

James yanked his arm out of Peter's grip, insulted. He was about to deliver a snappy retort, but a loud "BLOOSH" from behind him sounded before he could. He whirled around, racing back to the doors of the Great Hall with Peter a step behind him. James skidded to a stop at the doors, his mouth dropping open as he surveyed what had taken place.

Now that they had exploded, James could pick out several paint bombs planted on the ceiling of the Great Hall. Spell-controlled and color-coordinated, the Slytherins were doused in green paint, the Hufflepuffs in yellow, the Ravenclaws in blue, and the Gryffindors in red.

James acted before he could think, as was his norm, and he found himself sprinting towards Lily and her friends. But as he went, his prankster side, which was practically all of him, fought a laugh as he spotted Snivellus doused in green paint.

Once he reached Lily's side, he opened his mouth, ready to ask if she was okay. Lily looked up as he arrived, before James could say anything, her face twisted into an expression of fury.

"JAMES POTTER!" she shrieked, launching off the bench and pulling out her wand as she went.

Once again, James' legs reacted before his brain had even processed what was happened, and he raced towards the doors, where Peter still stood. As James flew past the blond-haired boy, followed by Lily and hexes, James thought he heard Peter mutter,

"I thought we were waiting till next year. Guess Sirius got bored."

* * *

Remus stumbled down the Grand Staircase, going as fast as he could without losing his grip and getting run over by his chest. What a horrible fate that would be. Beside and a little behind him, Sirius was doing the same thing.

"I told you, Sirius," Remus gasped. "We're going to miss the train!" He meant for the accusation to come out with a more judgmental tone, but he couldn't find the breath to make it happen.

"We will not!" Sirius said stubbornly, the end of his sentence cutting off in a grunt as his chest crashed into his feet.

"We will!"

"Will not!"

Remus gave an exasperated sigh and ignored the other boy. He tried to pull his chest faster, but he only accomplished running over his own toes. He grimaced, but didn't stop. _We will so be late,_ Remus thought, grunting as his elbow banged against the railing. _And I'm blaming Sirius for this one._

* * *

Remus moaned as he practically crawled down the hall, feet dragging and chest heaving. "Thirty seconds to spare, Sirius," he panted. "Thirty seconds and _the train would have left without us!_ We're lucky we even got on!"

"I know! That was brilliant!" the raven-haired boy replied, skipping down the hallway. He spun around to give Remus an ecstatic grin. "We have to do that again!"

Remus groaned, pulling himself to his feet. "Sirius, I never want to get anywhere close to doing that again." Sirius gave Remus a sad face, the same one they both knew Remus had gone immune to long ago.

"But Remus..." Sirius whined, and Remus got a sudden feeling of déjà vu.

"No," he said firmly, pushing past his taller companion and continuing on down the hallway. "We're lucky the conductor even let us on."

"As you said before," Sirius muttered, and Remus rolled his eyes. Trust the raven-haired boy to remember what he had said but not remember a thing from a full hour and a half of Herbology. "If you're looking for Jamesie and Pete, they're in here."

Remus backpedaled and a few steps and realized that the two other Marauders were indeed in the compartment Sirius had stopped in front of. He gave the raven-haired boy a look of grudging thanks, then pulled the door open. The second he did, he was met with an irate James.

"Where were you?" the bespectacled boy demanded. "We thought the train would leave without you!"

 _Mother hen,_ Remus thought. "Blame Sirius," he said aloud. "And I do not think 'we' were worried, I think you were the one pacing around, James." The dark-haired Marauder opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Peter's chuckle cut him off. James shot a glare at the blond boy, then said,

"Okay, fine, maybe I was, but why should I blame Sirius? I mean, there's a lot I could blame him for, just like me, since we're awesome, but-"

"He didn't pack until ten minutes before the train was set to leave," Remus explained, interrupting James' rambling. Otherwise they could be standing here all day. The dark-haired Marauder's mouth formed a silent "O", and Sirius huffed.

"Moony's being a spoilsport," he complained, flopping onto a seat with a childish pout. Peter chuckled again, and Sirius turned his own glare on the blond boy.

"Come off it, Sirius," Peter said, waving a hand. "Remus isn't a spoilsport." The blond Marauder grinned. "At least, not right now he isn't."

Remus took a breath to express his offense, but he quickly deflated. Peter was right. He was the spoilsport of the group. James was the mother hen, but he would stop his friends if he knew their pranks were impossible to pull off. He sank onto the seats next to Sirius, heaving a sigh that was hidden by the chatter in the rest of the compartment. Finally, Sirius asked,

"Remus? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, mates," Remus muttered, putting his face in his hands. When Sirius spoke again, Remus could hear the confusion in his voice.

"Sorry? Why on earth would you be sorry, Remus?"

"Like you said," Remus said gloomily. "I am a spoilsport. Don't you-"

"Stop right there," James interrupted, and Remus looked at the dark-haired Marauder's sharp tone. "Don't you dare start insulting yourself, Remus. That was a round of joshing, nothing more. In fact, be angry at Sirius. He's the one that brought up this topic. And besides all that, I am not spending this entire train ride in this gloomy atmosphere." James' expression morphed into a faint smirk. "Do you want me to go get Lily so she can cheer you up, too?"

Remus chuckled weakly. "No, James. You should leave Lily alone. She's still fuming."

"She still loves me," the bespectacled boy protested. Sirius snorted.

"Dream on, James."

Their usual banter made Remus smile. How could he not? His friends were bloody idiots, that was for certain, but Remus had figured that out long ago. The boys around him were the only friends he had, and really, he didn't want any others.

"Moony? Earth to Moony?" Sirius, of course. "Ha, see what I did there?"

"Shut up, Sirius. Remus doesn't need your awful jokes."

"And your suggestions were golden, Jamesie."

* * *

Remus sighed, shifting and making the chocolate wrappers that had gathered between him and Sirius join the pile on the ground. If he was being honest, Remus was addicted to chocolate. He had a supply on hand at all times, but that supply had been severely dented in the past three hours or so. Across the compartment, Peter and James were sitting in piles of wrappers very similar to Remus and Sirius'. Like Remus himself, both boys wore sickly expressions. Even as he had the thought that his friends looked like they were about to throw up, Peter hiccuped, then groaned.

"I ate too much chocolate," the blond Marauder whimpered. "I don't think I can move."

"Me either," James moaned. He paled. "Oh no. What if Lily comes in and sees me like this?"

"Why would she?" Sirius asked, pushing himself further up in his seat and leaning heavily against Remus. "She never comes anywhere near us. Well, aside from Remy here, I mean."

"He's right, James," Remus said, but despite what both he and Sirius said, James struggled to his feet and stumbled to the door, which was cracked open. As soon as the bespectacled boy reached the door, he gasped and threw it closed. It crashed against the other side of the doorway with a bang, making Peter jump and topple onto the ground. He landed on a pile of wrappers with a loud crinkle.

"She's out there," James gasped. Sirius snorted.

"Don't expect me to help. I'll clean up my mess when I want to."

"Which means never," Remus pointed out, poking the raven-haired boy in the arm. Sirius shrugged.

"True."

James clearly wasn't paying any attention to Remus and Sirius. The dark-haired boy flew around the compartment, sweeping the wrappers under the seats. Remus watched for a few moments, but watching James run in circles made him dizzy. After a hectic minute, the other Marauder finished his rush and collapsed on his seat, his chest rising and falling heavily.

Sirius gave him a disgusted look. "Really, James. You want to be on the Quidditch team but you can't even run around a tiny compartment a few times. You should be ashamed." Remus elbowed the raven-haired boy, but he couldn't help thinking that Sirius made a good point.

James sighed theatrically. "Lily makes me excitable," he said dreamily.

Remus choked on air, giving James a wide stare. There was no way his fellow Marauder that thought that sentence through. Apparently, the other Marauders thought the same, as Peter moved closer to the window and Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"What, you lads won't support that?" James demanded, standing on the seat and scanning the compartment with an irritated look. Remus desperately hoped James didn't fall, but replied,

"Not when you put it like that, James."

* * *

Remus sighed as the last of the wrappers floated out the door. Finally. That had taken far too long. He looked around their compartment one last time for any spare wrappers, then grabbed his chest and headed down the hallway. He met Peter at the train doors, as the blond Marauder had been collecting the wrappers in a bag that he'd throw away later.

James and Sirius had already jumped off the train, leaving Remus and Peter to clean up their compartment. Not that Remus minded. Knowing James and Sirius, the two probably would have made airplanes out of the wrappers and sent them spiraling out over the crowd of waiting parents. Not the best way to say hello.

"Finally," Peter sighed, jumping off the train. "I thought the wrappers would never stop coming."

Remus chuckled. "Even we can't eat that much." He paused, scanning the crowd with his fellow Marauder at his side. "You doing anything over the summer, Pete?"

"Probably not," Peter replied, looking over the crowd like Remus was. "I think James is trying to convince his parents to let us stay at his house."

"That's be cool," Remus said thoughtfully. "I'd love to see what his house looks like."

"Me too," Peter said brightly. Then a waving man caught his attention, and he said, "Oh, that's my dad. See you in a few weeks, Remus."

"Bye, Pete." Remus watched the blond boy disappear before turning and returning to searching the crowd for his own parents. Instead, he spotted Sirius standing a few meters away. Deciding being a few meters over wouldn't hurt, Remus dragged his chest through the crowd and joined Sirius. "Hey Siri. Where's James?"

"His parents already picked him up," the raven-haired boy said, not looking away from the bunches of mingling students and adults. "Said he was going to try to let us come over for the break."

"I don't see why he wouldn't be able to," Remus said, shrugging.

"Yeah, James can be pretty persuasive."

Remus chuckled at that, and they fell into a companionable silence. A few minutes ticked by. Just as Remus was about to suggest moving to another spot, Sirius grabbed his arm so tightly that it cut off blood flow to his arm.

"Sirius, what are you-" Remus started.

"They're here," Sirius hissed. He turned to Remus, a look of panic in his eyes. "Remy, my parents are here."

Remus immediately forgot about Sirius' grasp on his arm and swung from side to side, searching wildly. Barely a second later, he picked out Sirius' parents marching towards them. Two imposing figures, Orion Black with jet black hair and a scowl, Walburga Black with a sneer and her wand already out. Sirius' grasp became a death grip, and Remus watched as the blood drain from his best mate's face.

"Remus, promise me you'll write," Sirius said frantically.

"Why-"

"Remus, promise me."

Remus realized Sirius was close to panic, and, after a glance at Sirius' parents, said, "Of course I will, Sirius."

"Sirius!" Walburga screeched. It was clear she was searching for the raven-haired boy that stood next to Remus. Sirius' face went even paler, and he looked like he wanted to climb back onto the Hogwarts Express and go back to school. But he swallowed and reached for his chest, never taking his eyes off his approaching parents.

"Stay alive," Remus whispered to Sirius The raven-haired boy looked at him with dull eyes, and Remus felt his stomach clench. What had his parents done to him in the past?

"I'll try," Sirius rasped. Remus reached out and grabbed Sirius' wrist.

"No. You will."

"Sirius, come on!" Orion Black called. Sirius gently pried Remus' hand off his wrist, but Remus still gave him a quick hug.

"Alright," he said quietly once he let the raven-haired boy go. "Hurry." Sirius took off through the crowd, leaving Remus alone in the crowd with nothing but time to worry about the safety of his best mate. A few minutes later, his parents arrived, but Remus didn't feel any joy. He only felt a cold knot in his gut.

"Remus, what's wrong?" For a few seconds, Remus didn't even realize his mother had spoken. Then his brain finally recognized the speech patterns, and he lifted his head.

"Sorry, what?" he asked, still distracted.

Hope turned in her seat to look at him. "Remus, you've been quiet the entire drive. What's wrong? I thought you'd be more excited."

"I'm just-" Remus stopped. What was he going to say? He was just worried about Sirius Black, the heir to the Noble and Most Ancient family of Black? His parents would probably ban him from ever seeing Sirius again. Alright, maybe Remus was overacting. His mother was pretty open-minded, but Lyall? No, Remus had to lie. To his parents. The other Marauders _had_ corrupted him.

"I'm just trying to remember everything I can," Remus lied, feeling oddly at ease with the small lie. Hope smiled, and Lyall said,

"Don't worry, Remus. We're going to listen to all of your stories."

 _Maybe not all of them,_ Remus thought dryly. Some of the pranks he and his best mates had pulled off were better left unsaid.

As soon as the car had stopped in their driveway, Remus jumped out, yanking his chest with him. With a hurried "Just going to dump this in my room!", he charged into the house, barely stopping to unlock the front door. Remus ran up the stairs, bursting into his room. He curled into a ball on his bed, fighting back the fear that had wormed its way into his mind. Fear for Sirius. Remus had no idea what his fellow Marauder was going to go through.

After a few minutes, Remus managed to get himself under control. He looked around the small room. _Guess I'm home,_ he thought. But then again... maybe he wasn't. Hogwarts was Remus' home. At Hogwarts, he was free to unleash his inner mischief, and he had made the best friends he could ever hope for. Friends that accepted him.

Yes, Hogwarts was Remus' home. His parents had always protected him, but Hogwarts was where Remus really felt safe. He just had to wait for a few weeks. Then he'd be back with the rest of the Marauders. But thinking of the Marauders made Remus think of Sirius, and he had to fight back another wave of worry.

 _Just one month, Sirius,_ _he thought, squeezing his eyes shut._ _Stay alive for one month._

* * *

 **Eek, something serious. Ha, see what I did there? ...oh Merlin. I've been writing about the Marauders too long. *clears throat* right, well, thanks for reading! Do drop a review, and until next time, Bird out!**


	6. Marauders Reunited

AN/ **Aahh, I had far too much fun writing this. But heck, it's the Marauders, so who cares! Enjoy guys!**

Disclaimer: *insert something clever here. I don't know, what have you*

* * *

Remus sighed as he walked down the stairs. His face was screwed in an expression somewhere between a smile and a frown, and his shoulders slumped as he took the steps one by one. He knew he should be sprinting down the stairs with reckless abandon, as his mum had called him down for breakfast, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

His current mood had been in place for the past three weeks. His mind had been plagued with worry for Sirius, but the prospect of getting to go to James' house was too exciting to ignore. Which had left Remus constantly torn in two.

He paused as he heard a rapid tapping from his bedroom. Remus whipped around and flew back up the stairs. He burst into his bedroom, grinning widely as he spotted an owl sitting on his windowsill. James' owl.

He carefully opened the window, letting the owl hop inside. It cooed happily, clearly recognizing him, then held out its leg. Two letters. Remus frowned, but handed the owl a treat before untying the letters. One from James, the other from Sirius.

Remus sat on his bed, not even noticing when the owl looked over its shoulder at him before fluttering out the window. Deciding on the safer course of action, Remus set Sirius' letter aside and opened James'.

 _Hey Remus!_

 _I know this letter is late in coming, but I finally got my parents to agree to letting you, Peter, and Sirius come over. I guess you live farther away than Pete 'cause he's already here._

 _The plan is that you stay for the next two weeks, then my parents will take us all to the station. And you better get here soon, Remus. It's not as fun with only two Marauders._

 _James_

 _P.S. Sirius' owl dropped his letter off here. I opened it and read it, and well... I think it's meant for you._

Remus smiled as he read James' letter, but frowned again as he read the last sentence. He set James' letter down, then gingerly picked up Sirius' letter and slid the envelope open.

 _Hey Remy._

 _Sorry I couldn't write back sooner. My right arm was kinda... unusable for writing until today._

 _I have been getting your letters, and thought I should probably write back so you know I'm not dead. This will stop at James' so if my parents somehow manage to track my owl, they'll see it stop a fellow pure-blood's house rather than a dirty half-blood's house. Their words, not mine. AND JAMES IF YOU FORGET TO SEND THIS LETTER WITH YOUR OWN I WILL MURDER YOU IN YOUR SLEEP._

 _See you at James'. I think I'll be able to escape._

 _Sirius_

Remus squeezed the letter. Sirius' right arm was unusable for writing? What in Merlin's name did that mean? Had Sirius' arm been broken? Had it been paralyzed? And Sirius only thought he could escape? Oh no, Sirius was making it to James' house even if it took Remus marching up to his best mate's house and dragging him out.

Alright, maybe that wasn't the smartest course of action Remus could take. He had to at least make it to James' house before he admitted a half-baked rescue mission.

Oh right. James' house.

Remus snatched James' letter off his bed, and this time, threw himself down the stairs. He raced into the kitchen, his feet skidding on the tile as he attempted to come to a full stop in a matter of seconds. Hope was setting out breakfast, and Lyall, who was enjoying a rare day off, was already sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper.

"There you are, Remus," Hope said. "I was starting to get worried. Breakfast is-"

"Mum, dad, can I go to James' house for the next two weeks?" Remus interjected, making Hope start in surprise and Lyall look over the top of his paper with an eyebrow raised. "He said his parents can take me to the station and to Diagon Alley."

"Er, why would you ask that, dear?" Hope asked, her words tinged with confusion. Remus hesitated, then placed James' letter on the table. Lyall set his paper aside and picked up the letter, unrolling it carefully. Hope walked to her husband's side and read over his shoulder. Remus chewed his lip nervously as he watched his parents scan the letter. Eventually, Lyall looked up at him.

"Where is Sirius' letter?"

Remus swallowed as subtly as he could. He had told his parents all about his friends, but he had omitted the fact that Sirius' last name was Black. He wasn't sure how they would react, and he needed to be able to go to James' house, now more than ever. He said,

"It's upstairs on my bed."

"Does it have anything to do with going to James' house for the rest of your break?" Hope asked. Remus mentally calmed himself, then said,

"No, nothing." Clearly, it didn't quite work, as Lyall raised an eyebrow.

"Remus?" he asked.

"No, it was just a letter," Remus repeated.

Lyall looked back down at James' letter and Remus shoved his hands into his pockets to keep himself from ripping his hair out. Why did his father have to be so wary of everyone? Remus _had_ made it through his first year without being killed by his friends! Well, mostly. Remus still had a scar on his knuckle from one of their pranks, but it blended in with the rest of the scars on his hands.

"I don't see why not," Hope said. Lyall opened his mouth, but Remus grinned and said, "Thanks, mum!" before his father could get his comment out. He shot back upstairs, racing around his room, throwing clothes and all the other things he'd need in his chest. He could be ready in fifteen minutes. Then all he had to do was get to James' house.

* * *

Lyall looked up at Hope, frowning slightly. "Don't the Blacks have a son named Sirius?" he asked. Hope nodded wordlessly, and Lyall turned his frown on the letter he still held in his hands. "What is Remus doing writing to a Black? The Potters are good people, but Orion and Walburga? Nothing good can be raised in their house."

Hope had her concerns as well, but listening to Remus babble on about his friends for the past few weeks had eased most of hers. And out of all the "Marauders", as Remus had described them, he had seemed the happiest when chattering about Sirius. Hope placed a hand on Lyall's shoulder. "Dear, I think we should give this Sirius a chance. You've heard what Remus has been saying. Let him go to James'. It's clear he desperately wants to."

Lyall sighed and placed the letter on the table. "Alright. Once he gets back down."

Once Remus got back down, lugging his trunk behind him, Hope smiled.

"Dear, you can go to James' house," she said. "Make sure you write once you get there, alright?" Remus beamed, and it warmed Hope's heart to see her son so happy.

"Thank you!" he said, already starting for the fireplace. Lyall cleared his throat, waving James' letter. Remus flushed lightly, plucking the letter from his father's fingers and racing into the fireplace.

"Now Remus," Lyall started. "Remember-" Before Lyal had even finished his sentence, Remus had grabbed a handful of Floo powder and disappeared. Hope watched the green flames in bemusement.

"I don't think 'desperately wants to' quite conveys his enthusiasm," Lyall said, and Hope chuckled, handing the paper back to her husband.

* * *

Remus toppled out of the fireplace, crashing into someone and sending them both toppling to the ground. Luckily, Remus' trunk went tumbling to the side, but Remus still coughed as he landed on the floor.

"Ow!" the person he had crashed into complained. "Figure out where you're going, you bloody- Remus!" Remus coughed up several dusts clumps before he sat up, grinning at the ecstatic boy next to him.

"Yes, it's me, James," he laughed, his lungs crushed as the bespectacled Marauder tackled him in a hug. Despite his lack of oxygen, Remus grinned again, hugging James back tightly. Leave it James to somehow be next to the fireplace at the same time Remus was going through. He had always had an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time.

James finally let Remus go and beamed at him, springing to his feet. "You're finally here!" the dark-haired boy exclaimed, already dragging Remus' chest over to its owner. Remus tilted his head.

"Finally here?" he repeated. "James, I only got your letter earlier today." The dark-haired Marauder blinked.

"That was today? Oh. I'm still glad you got here so quick!" Remus chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm sure you are, James. Where's Pete? You said that he was already here."

"Upstairs," James said eagerly. "Come on, I owe you a tour!" James got a better grip on Remus' chest, then started dragging it towards the stairs. Remus just watched, amused. Sure enough, after a few seconds, James dropped the piece of luggage with a huff. But to Remus' surprise, the dark-haired boy pulled out his wand and muttered "Wingardium Leviosa". The chest floated into the air and James continued his walk towards the giant staircase.

Remus followed James up the stairs, albeit hesitantly. "Your parents allow you to break the law when you're at home?"

"What?" James glanced at the chest and laughed. "Oh, that. Trust me, Remus. There are ways around laws."

"So..."

"No, my parents pay a fee for the ability to do magic," James said, waving his free hand. "Sadly."

"Right..."

James laughed again, clearly amused by Remus' wary expression. "Relax, Moony. I'm abiding by the law."

"That exactly what I'm worried about, James," Remus said, pushing his chest with a finger. James jutted out his bottom lip, clearly considering.

"Huh. True. C'mon, this is my room." The dark-haired Marauder pushed the first door of the second floor open. Remus trailed him by a few steps, smiling as he scanned the Gryffindor-colored room. James dropped the chest in the middle of the room, then tossed himself onto his bed in a manner that Remus knew very well.

"Wait, are we sleeping in here?" Remus asked, sweeping an arm around the cramped room. James shrugged, giving him an easy grin.

"Why not?"

"There's not a lot of room, James," Remus said, nudging someone's blanket with a toe.

"It'll work," James said, supremely unconcerned. Remus snorted.

"With this being your room, I'm sure it will."

* * *

Remus peered over the top of his book, stifling a snicker as he watched his friends attempt their hand at baking. Peter was watching James' mother, Euphemia, and was doing pretty well. James was just stealing unbaked cookie dough from a bowl. He had obviously done it several times before without being noticed, but this time, Peter called him out. James threw a bowl of flour at the blond-haired boy, who ducked and ran after James with his whisk at the ready.

"Boys-" Euphemia began, but her voice was lost to James' laughs and Peter's irritated shouts. Remus laughed quietly, then turned his attention back to his book. He had planned to read it, but when it came down to watching his friends make fools of themselves or reading, he would pick his friends every time.

After several more minutes, James and Peter had not yet calmed down, so Remus stood. He was just about to set down his book and help Euphemia calm the other two Marauders down when he noticed ash dribbling from the corners of the fireplace. No, not ash. Tiny green flames. Floo flames. Sirius.

Remus' book landed on the floor and just as Sirius tumbled through the fireplace, chest in tow. He landed sprawled on the carpet, hair coated with ash and face black as his name. But he was grinning. And Remus couldn't care less how he looked.

"That was brilliant!" Sirius said to no one in particular. Then he spotted Remus and his grin spread wider. "We have to install a Floo network in the dorm!"

Remus grinned back, holding out a hand. Sirius pulled himself up, balanced himself, then tackled Remus in a hug. Remus didn't even care that his lungs were being crushed for the second time that day. He just hugged Sirius back tightly, smiling into the raven-haired boy's shoulder. His smile grew wider as he heard James call,

"Oh sure, hug Remus first! What are we, potatoes? OW! Peter, stop it!"

* * *

Remus crossed his arms, grinning as James' mother fussed over his jacket. One week at James' house and Remus was amazed he was still sane. Then again, he had put with them for long enough to grow immune to James and Sirius. What really amazed Remus was that Euphemia took everything the Marauders did in stride.

Water in the pool turned to mud? Euphemia had taken one look at it and said, "Clean it out by dinner." Turning James' cat into a fur coat (accidentally, of course)? "I prefer my own coats, James. Remus, please turn poor Marble back into a cat." James and Sirius staying up until ungodly hours laughing? "James, Sirius, go to bed before Peter and Remus make an attempt on your life."

Yes, Remus was amazed by how acceptive James' mother was. Even when Sirius and James goofed off to extreme levels. _Speak of the devil,_ Remus thought, snickering as Sirius snuck behind James and his mother, taking a place next to Remus and assuming an innocent expression.

"I think she noticed that you only came out now," Remus said dryly, watching as Sirius struggled to get his jacket on. "What took you so long?"

"I had to find a clean jacket," Sirius said, sounding offended that Remus had chosen to ask him such a question. "This was the only one I could find."

Remus chuckled, but it died in his throat as he noticed a long scar running around Sirius' right arm. He stopped the other boy and gently ran a finger along the faint scar. "Is this why you couldn't write?" he asked quietly. Sirius quickly pulled the jacket over his shoulders.

"Maybe," he muttered, a shadow passing over his face. Remus frowned. Sirius never opened up on what his home was like. Remus was determined to get the full story, but he knew it was painful for Sirius. So most of the time, he didn't bring the subject up.

"Okay," he said, resigning himself to however long it would be before Sirius would trust him with the facts. The raven-haired boy gave him a pained look, like he wanted to tell Remus, but for some reason couldn't. Then the moment was interrupted as Peter hurried out of the house. Remus gave Sirius a suspicious glance. "You weren't just getting a jacket." Remus turned to Peter. "What were you doing, Pete?"

"Nothing," the blond-haired boy said hesitantly. "Why, what is Sirius accusing me of doing?" Remus scowled.

"Come on, mates," he moaned. "If you do whatever you're going to do, you're going to push our luck here." Sirius smirked.

"I wouldn't say that, Moony."

Remus sighed, rubbing his temples. He should have known better than to expect the summer to go out peacefully. "Fine. I know I can't stop you lot even if I tried. But if you three get in deep, I'm not helping."

Sirius slung an arm around Remus' shoulder. "Now that I would never believe. You love us too much."

"It'll be the death of me," Remus muttered, glaring at Sirius even as the familiar banter warmed his heart.

Remus tapped his toe impatiently as James ogled a new broomstick. He glanced in the other direction to make sure that Sirius was where Remus had left him. Yes, still with those girls. _Really, Sirius,_ he thought. _Have you no shame? Actually, you probably don't._ Remus huffed, looking around for Peter. The fourth Marauder was nowhere to be seen. Remus scowled.

"It's like I'm their bloody babysitter," Remus muttered, taking off down the road, swinging his head back and forth for the short blond boy that had somehow disappeared.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Remus wondered aloud. "Maybe I somehow offended whatever freak of nature controls my destiny. Or maybe-" Remus' rant continued as he searched for Peter. Normally, Remus wouldn't have been so irritable, but the previous night, he had had a nightmare revolving around the night Greyback had bitten him. Such nightmares always frazzled Remus, but put with the fact that Sirius was as close-mouthed as ever, and Remus really didn't want to deal with whatever idiocy his fellow Marauders had cooked up.

After a good ten minutes and several rants on Remus' part, he found Peter standing inside the owl shop, debating whether the price on the cage of an owl was worth the bird itself.

"Peter," Remus panted. The blond Marauder looked over at him, his eyes shining with confusion. "There you are. I've been looking-" Remus froze, a realization hitting him like a sledgehammer to his skull. The secrecy, the new jacket, it all made sense. His eyes widened. Oh no. No no no. Sirius and James were not attempting to prank Diagon Alley. That was just wasn't possible.

But it was Sirius and James. Peter had been a distraction.

"Oh, Merlin," Remus breathed. He turned and shot out of the store. As he burst through the door, he heard Peter call after him.

"Remus? What are you-" Then Remus hit the road and the noises of the wizards around him cut off Peter's question. He flew up the main road, shops and wizards mushing together as he gained speed. Horrible ideas swirled through his head, and Remus knew if the two other Marauders attempted any of them, they'd be expelled at the very least. Surely the morons Remus called his best mates wouldn't be so stupid? Sure, they had attempted some truly ridiculous pranks, but if they tried this...

Finally, Remus reached the spot he had left Sirius and James and bit back a curse as he saw his friends nowhere. "Where are you, you gits?" he hissed aloud, spinning in circles.

"Over here," the insulted voice of Sirius Black called. Remus turned and let out a breath of relief as he spotted Sirius and James emerging from the broom shop. He spent a second erasing the horrible prank ideas in his head before making his way through the throngs of people. Hopefully, Sirius wouldn't read his mind like he always managed to. Also on the weak hope train, Remus hoped James wouldn't see his look of relief.

"Thank Merlin," Remus said, stopping in front of the two dark-haired Marauders. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"And what did we do that earned us the title of gits?" he inquired. Remus laughed softly.

"How about everything you've ever done?" Before either dark-haired Marauder could object, Peter hurried up to them, an owl cage bouncing in his hand. After a second, Remus realized a dark gray owl also bouncing along with Peter.

"Remus!" Peter called, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste. Remus said nothing, choosing to instead watch in amusement. The blond-haired boy sighed, running the last few steps to join the other Marauders. "Why did you run off?" Peter asked, raising his hands in confusion. That also meant lifting the owl, and the unfortunate bird squawked as its cage was tossed around. Peter winced and carefully lowered his hand, but still gave Remus a confused look. Remus laughed.

"I thought Sirius and James were going to prank Diagon Alley," he answered, shoving his hands in his pockets and grinning sheepishly. James made an insulted noise.

"What? Without you or Pete?" Remus glanced at the bespectacled boy.

"Well, at first I thought Peter was helping, but then since you two were gone, I thought you were keeping it to yourselves." Sirius waved a hand in front of James' face.

"That doesn't matter, James," the Black heir said, his eyes fixed on Remus'. "I want to know what horrible pranks Moony's brain concocted as our 'plans'." Remus held Sirius' gaze, raising an eyebrow at the raven-haired boy. Sirius just grinned back, and Remus snorted, starting towards the figure of Euphemia Potter.

"Even you can't pull that out of me, Sirius," he called over his shoulder.

"Oh, come on, Remy!" Sirius called after him. Remus continued towards Euphemia. "I'll get some chocolate from Honeydukes' for you once we get to Hogwarts!" Remus froze. His brain whirled in circles, weighing the risks and benefits. Finally, Remus sighed, turning and walking back to his friends.

"I take no blame if you three decide to pull these off without me."

Sirius grinned. "Like that would happen. The Marauders do their pranks together or not at all."

"So you really don't care if I get detention," Remus said flatly.

"Nope," James said cheerfully. Peter, the little traitor, just grinned at him.

"Of course not," Sirius said, smirking. "Every Marauder needs a record. And you, dear Moony, have been getting off rather easily lately."

* * *

 **Aww look, Remus acknowledged that Sirius can get him to do things the other Marauders can't. Alright, my little shipper heart can write the next few chapters without exploding. Thanks for reading, Fledglings! Bird out!**


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